This summer, through August 31st, bring a specially marked Kraft String Cheese to Fiesta Texas in San Antonio and get $15 off general admission any day of the week. With adult admission costing $54.99, this could get you into the park for under $40 or under $20 for kids.  Remember kids under 2 are FREE. To make the deal even sweeter, Six Flags and Kraft have teamed up with TerraCycle to collect and recylce the cheese packaging. Familes can also enter the “Twisted Adventure” sweepstakes through June 30th for a chance to win 20, one-day admission tickets to their local park.  No purchase is necessary. And you don’t have to live in South Central Texas to enjoy this deal.  Six Flags is also in Chicago, St. Louis, Arlington, Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Sunset Primary Mom Helping The Environment, One Pouch At A Time With the help of the TerraCycle program, Kelly Tilton has helped to make students understand the value of recycling. One of the things she has done has set up a bin at the school in which students can recycle their drink pouches. Kelly Tilton is a busy woman. Aside from being a mom and a business owner, the University Place woman is also doing her part to help the environment. And as she tells the story, she "just kind of stumbled upon" her contributions last year. Two of Tilton's four children  - Ben, 9, and Rachel, 6 - attend Sunset Primary, where their mom is a member of the PTA. She buys them the Honest Kids brand of fruit drinks that come in pouches. One day last year, she saw on one of the packages that the pouches could be recycled. In fact, through the TerraCycle program, one pouch could earn her 2 cents. (Click here to find out more about TerraCycle) As a member of the Sunset PTA, Tilton figured she could use the pouch-recycling program as a fundraiser for the group. Sure, it was only a few cents for every pouch, but over time and with plenty of kids participating, the money could help pay for things like field trip costs. So, Tilton and the rest of the Sunset PTA got permission to place a bin in the school's cafeteria where kids could throw away, er, recycle their pouches. That's right, everything from Capri Suns to Honest Kids to Minute Maids. The group put out the bin in May last year. So far, kids have recycled more than 5,000 drink pouches, which has earned the group $100. "It's just been amazing," Tilton says. "The kids, they did it all year, even if we're not in school." The program is great for students, she says, because it teaches them the value of recycling non-traditional recyclables like plastic cartons and newspapers. Also, the pouches are recycled in such a manner that students can actually get a sense that their recyclables are being used. For instance, Tilton has a handbag that is made out of recycled Capri Sun pouches. There's no sign that she'll be stopping anytime soon, either. She has another son, James, 4, who's about to start at Sunset, and Sarah, who turns 2 years old next month, is on her way there. "I'm going to be stuck doing this forever," she jokes, "which is a good thing."

When: Today until Mon, Oct 10, 2011 | 12:00 AM to 11:00 PM Where: Six Flags Great Escape Cost: $15 off general admission POLLY-O STRING CHEESE AND TWISTS TEAM UP WITH SIX FLAGS FOR A TWISTED SUMMER OF FAMILY FUN Families can enjoy BIG discounts for one of America?s Favorite Summer Pastimes courtesy of POLLY-O String Cheese and Twists WHAT: POLLY-O and TerraCycle, Inc. have partnered with Six Flags for a summer recycling drive at Six Flags parks across the United States. Visitors are encouraged to participate by bringing their specially marked POLLY-O String Cheese and Twists packaging to the park entrance to receive a discount on their tickets. The packaging will be sent to TerraCycle to be recycled into eco-friendly products. Specially marked POLLY-O String Cheese and Twists packages are good for one Free Kid?s Ticket (under ten years old) with the purchase of a general admission ticket on weekdays (up to a $34.99 value) or $15 off general admission any day. Families can also enter the ?Twisted Adventure? sweepstakes through June 30th, 2011 for a chance to win twenty one-day admission tickets to their local park, sponsored by Six Flags and POLLY-O String Cheese. WHY: Recycling is easy and the benefits are numerous. POLLY-O, Six Flags, and TerraCycle remind consumers that recycling does not take much effort by offering discounts and easy drop-off at participating parks. WHEN: May 15th, 2011 through October 10th, 2011. WHERE: Six Flags locations in Atlanta, Baltimore/D.C., Springfield, MA, Jackson, NJ, and Lake George, NY. More information visit: http://www.kraftpollyosixflags.com/ For More Information Call: 609-393-4252 x3702

TerraCycle

I apologize for my absence last week but I was on a trip volunteering in Los Angeles with 75 high school students! I’m back though and going to share my new obsession for this week’s entry. TerraCyle. I love recycling and re-using as much as I can but TerraCycle just took recycling to a whole new level. They take unrecyclable materials (chewy bar wrappers, cereal bags, beauty products, cameras, cell phones, writing utensils, etc) and make them into new things. On top of that, for most of their “brigades”, like items being recycled, they will give .02 cents to the charity of your choice or you can instead get points and donate them to projects on their website, like Heifer International. All you have to do is sign up or find somewhere locally that is already collecting materials for TerraCycle. I have found that it is a bit difficult to find people locally so I just signed up myself. I’d be more than happy to collect people’s things, just let me know! So this week when you are unwrapping your toilet paper and going to throw away the plastic wrapping, think again because through TerraCycle those items you are throwing away may be able to be recycled. Happy recycling! Until next week, Annie http://www.terracycle.net

Kraft and Polly-O brand String Cheese and Twists are all about twisted fun for kids and this summer, the two brands have teamed up with Six Flags to offer families great value and tons of “twisted fun” all season long. Beginning May 15 through Aug. 31, 2011, families can enjoy big savings at Six Flags parks across the country with specially marked packages of Polly-O and Kraft String Cheese and Twists. Families simply bring a Kraft or Polly-O String Cheese or Twists package wrapper to a participating Six Flags park* to receive the discount. The discount varies by brand: ? Polly-O packages are good for one Free Kids Ticket (under 10 years old) with the purchase of a general admission ticket on weekdays (up to a $34.99 value) or $15 off general admission any day. ? Kraft packages are good for $15 off general admission any day. “We’re thrilled to team up with Six Flags to help kids have fun this summer,” says Chris Urban, brand manager for Kraft Foods. “We know families are looking for more value and it’s great that Kraft and Polly-O customers can enjoy a memorable day at Six Flags with a special price with this fun promotion.” In addition to the valuable on-pack discount for Kraft and Polly-O customers, the brands will activate their twisted fun with an integrated marketing campaign inside the parks and offer consumers a chance to win great prizes with a national sweepstakes. Kraft and Polly-O will feature branding on Six Flags family-targeted “twisting” roller coasters at participating parks across the country, as well as run branded advertising across the Six Flags Media Networks, including commercials on Six Flags TV, the theme park’s award-winning out-of-home television network. For consumers seeking even more fun this summer, Six Flags and Kraft/ Polly-O is launching the “Twisted Adventure” Sweepstakes, where one lucky family at each of the participating Six Flags parks will win “20 one-day general admission tickets to the local park of their choice.” The sweepstakes will run through June 30, 2011, and consumers may enter online at www.sixflags.com/twistedsweeps. No purchase necessary. “We’re really excited about this partnership,” says David McKillips, svp, corporate alliances. “This is an innovative promotion that provides great exposure for the brands with our in-park media assets and certainly great value for moms and families with savings at our parks.” Kraft Foods is also partnering with TerraCycle, the international upcycling and recycling company that turns packaging wrappers into affordable, eco-friendly products. This summer all of the Kraft and Polly-O packaging wrappers collected at Six Flags will be upcycled into useful products while saving waste from landfills. * See official listing of participating Six Flags locations at www.KraftPollyOSixFlags.com

Say good-bye to the USDA’s long-standing “Food Pyramid,” and hello to the new guide in nutrition-a dinner plate, brimming with fruits and vegetables. These new guidelines, which suggest that half of one’s plate should be filled with fruit and veggies, already have parents wondering how they will help their choosy kids meet these nutritional needs. Thankfully, those with picky little eaters should look no further than GoGo squeeZ (http://www.materne.us/).

The North Face has partnered with upcycling and recycling pioneer TerraCycle to keep plastic polybags, used to protect apparel through distribution and transit, out of landfills. The North Face Polybag Brigade will divert 100 percent of the polybag packaging waste at the 20 The North Face retail stores in the United States where #4 plastic bags are not readily recyclable. TerraCycle will repurpose the bags into various products such as plastic lumber, bike racks, pavers, kitchen utensils and plastic tote bags for re-use.

TerraCycle Jun 10th, 2011 by Sarah Awhile back I received a press release from TerraCycle about reducing the burden of energy bar wrappers: Recycling the Non-Recyclable: TerraCycle Works to "Leave No Trace" on the Earth TRENTON, New Jersey - May 18, 2011 - This summer, instead of throwing out their garbage, hikers and park-goers have another option for their non-recyclable trash after they pack it out: sending it free of charge to pioneering company TerraCycle(r) to be recycled. TerraCycle collects people's trash and recycles the non-recyclable into eco-friendly, affordable, and practical products. The "leave no trace" policy, which has evolved into the "pack it in, pack it out" policy of taking all your trash out of the park with you, is furthered by TerraCycle's Brigade(r) program, through which people can send in difficult-to-recycle food wrappers for recycling and upcycling and earn cash for charity. Usually, wrappers from products including Kashi, Bear Naked, CLIF BAR, and Revolution Foods, among others, are non-recyclable. TerraCycle upcycles some wrappers into tote bags, coolers, notebooks, laptop cases and mini-speakers.  Wrappers that aren't upcycled are melted down and turned into plastics such as trash cans, flower pots, and clipboards. The snacks that hikers use while enjoying the outdoors can become eco-friendly, long-life products that support the environment that hikers are enjoying. Instead of just leaving no trace on the parks, hikers and outdoorsmen can also leave no trace on the Earth. Anyone can sign up for TerraCycle's Brigade programs and send in their wrappers for free. For every wrapper TerraCycle receives, two points are awarded that can be put toward buying a specific charity gift, or converted to money and donated to a charity of the participant's choice. Most importantly, the Brigade will be keeping these wrappers out of the local landfills and off the ground. So far, TerraCycle has kept over two billion pieces of trash from leaving their mark on the Earth, and with its partners, dispersed over $2 million to charity through the Brigade program. For more information on how to sign up, send in trash and earn extra cash for your favorite school or charity, visit www.terracycle.net ~Sarah